Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Insider: Midtgaard hoards boards
12/3/2020 5:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
GCU senior center ranks 4th nationally for rebounds
If every 7-foot player could rebound well, what Asbjørn Midtgaard is doing for Grand Canyon would not be so special.
Beyond his towering height, Midtgaard's strength matches his first name's Danish meaning (God's bear) and his drive capitalizes on his collegiate career's best opportunity. Midtgaard's mix has helped GCU to a 3-0 start with his 13.0 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the nation.
Midtgaard will not get a chance to build on his board work until Nevada visits on Dec. 11 with Saturday's home game being canceled because of COVID-19 issues with Prairie View A&M.
Midtgaard's 13-rebound average has led the Lopes to the nation's fifth-best rebound margin (plus-22.7 per game) through Dec. 5 games. Midtgaard's work ethic figures to stem the 10-day game gap, just as it brought him from a tall, uncoordinated boy who started playing basketball in Denmark at age 14 to a lightly used Wichita State three-year player to a featured GCU senior averaging a double-double (14.3 points, 12.0 rebounds).
"I take pride in rebounding, for sure," said Midtgaard, who grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in his Lopes debut. "Ever since I started playing basketball, all the coaches I've had have preached that rebounding wins games. Since I'm 7 feet and a center, it's my job to rebound. Whoever gets the most rebounds usually wins so I'm trying to do my part for sure.
"It's who wants it more. You can practice it all you want but, at the end of the day, it's just getting them boxed out, making sure you know where the ball goes, knowing your angles and who wants it more."
Midtgaard has been helped by his deep desire and sure, strong hands. He grabs passes like a shortstop with a glove and will not be denied loose balls when he can wrap his massive hands around most of the ball.
Because his father was a strength coach and a competitive sailor, Midtgaard began lifting weights before he played basketball. That work stabilized his frame, which is tall more because of his mother, a 6-4 former team handball player, than his father, who is 6-2.
"My strength has helped me a lot in my game," Midtgaard said. "I've worked for that, for sure. Whoever gets lowest and is the strongest usually can move them out or into the paint, whether it's offense or defense. It's just will power."
Midtgaard's presence has helped GCU dominate smaller opponents on the interior, where sophomore power forward Gabe McGlothan has been nearly as good on the boards with 17 rebounds in 41 minutes of play. The Lopes have found most of their points in the paint, outscoring opponents there 112-18 in the past two wins.
The rebounding advantage goes hand in hand with the number of opponent misses. GCU ranks 17th in the nation for opponent field goal percentage at 33.1%.
"It'll definitely get more challenging," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "We have a lot of things that we need to improve on before we get to those games (vs. Nevada on Dec. 11 and vs. Arizona State on Dec. 13).
"Eventually, we're going to be playing bigger opponents that can match up with Ale (Alessandro Lever) and Asbjørn so other guys are going to have to make more shots and make plays on the perimeter."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Beyond his towering height, Midtgaard's strength matches his first name's Danish meaning (God's bear) and his drive capitalizes on his collegiate career's best opportunity. Midtgaard's mix has helped GCU to a 3-0 start with his 13.0 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the nation.
Midtgaard will not get a chance to build on his board work until Nevada visits on Dec. 11 with Saturday's home game being canceled because of COVID-19 issues with Prairie View A&M.
Midtgaard's 13-rebound average has led the Lopes to the nation's fifth-best rebound margin (plus-22.7 per game) through Dec. 5 games. Midtgaard's work ethic figures to stem the 10-day game gap, just as it brought him from a tall, uncoordinated boy who started playing basketball in Denmark at age 14 to a lightly used Wichita State three-year player to a featured GCU senior averaging a double-double (14.3 points, 12.0 rebounds)."I take pride in rebounding, for sure," said Midtgaard, who grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in his Lopes debut. "Ever since I started playing basketball, all the coaches I've had have preached that rebounding wins games. Since I'm 7 feet and a center, it's my job to rebound. Whoever gets the most rebounds usually wins so I'm trying to do my part for sure.
"It's who wants it more. You can practice it all you want but, at the end of the day, it's just getting them boxed out, making sure you know where the ball goes, knowing your angles and who wants it more."
Midtgaard has been helped by his deep desire and sure, strong hands. He grabs passes like a shortstop with a glove and will not be denied loose balls when he can wrap his massive hands around most of the ball.
Because his father was a strength coach and a competitive sailor, Midtgaard began lifting weights before he played basketball. That work stabilized his frame, which is tall more because of his mother, a 6-4 former team handball player, than his father, who is 6-2.
"My strength has helped me a lot in my game," Midtgaard said. "I've worked for that, for sure. Whoever gets lowest and is the strongest usually can move them out or into the paint, whether it's offense or defense. It's just will power."
Midtgaard's presence has helped GCU dominate smaller opponents on the interior, where sophomore power forward Gabe McGlothan has been nearly as good on the boards with 17 rebounds in 41 minutes of play. The Lopes have found most of their points in the paint, outscoring opponents there 112-18 in the past two wins.
The rebounding advantage goes hand in hand with the number of opponent misses. GCU ranks 17th in the nation for opponent field goal percentage at 33.1%.
"It'll definitely get more challenging," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "We have a lot of things that we need to improve on before we get to those games (vs. Nevada on Dec. 11 and vs. Arizona State on Dec. 13).
"Eventually, we're going to be playing bigger opponents that can match up with Ale (Alessandro Lever) and Asbjørn so other guys are going to have to make more shots and make plays on the perimeter."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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